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List of clowns
"ON THE LAST DAY OF THE CARNIVAL", Mardi Gras (''French for Fat Tuesday,'') promiscuous masking is allowed on the streets, which are thronged with picturesque bands of maskers of every age and condition, and their costumes run in every garment from the clown to kings and queens." The view shows a group of maskers in the street, most in costumes of clowns with polka-dots and pointed hats. A sign on the neutral ground reads "Welcome to the Winter Capital of America". Early 20th century postcard Circus-style Famous * Amelia Butler - (ca, 1840 - ????). A female clown best known for being the first female American circus clown that we have records of. * Charles Adrien Wettach – Grock (1880–1959), A celebrated Swiss clown. * Achille Zavatta (1915–1993) * Aurelio Atayde Guizar - Bellini - Founder and star clown at Circo Atayde Hermanos in México * António Melo – Batatinha (literally Little Potato), from Portugal. A very well known clown. * Bev Bergeron – Rebo the Clown – Television clown on the shows Magic Land of Allakazam & The Magic Circus * Bim Bom – a famous clown duo of early 20th Century Russia * Emmett Kelly – Weary Willie the hobo clown; his son Emmett Kelly Jr took on the role after his death. * Ernie Burch – Blinko - (c. 1944-1995) Host of 1950's TV show. Ringling Bros. circus. The Greatest Show on Earth film. Named by Cecil B. DeMille * Josep Andreu i Lasserre – Charlie Rivel Other than Grock perhaps the most beloved and respected of all European clowns * The Chickys, classic European clown act * Jose de Jesus Medrano – Chuchin (1953–1984) a.k.a., a Mexican clown and performance star who died tragically. * Nicolai Poliakoff – Coco the Clown a longtime star clown of the Bertram Mills Circus * Daniel Rice (1823–1901) A famous American clown of the 19th century and principal inspiration for Uncle Sam. * David Konyot – 4 times winner best clown (U K) Hungarian circus festival, Polish circus Festival * Drosta – Real name unknown. European * Emmett Kelly – Extremely well known American tramp clown * Charlie Cairoli - Italian-born British clown * The Fratellini Family – a dynasty of French clowns * George Carl – American clown who found great success in Europe. Performed Royal Command Performance for the Queen at the Palladium in London. He also received the coveted "Golden Clown" award from Princess Grace at the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo. * Glen "Frosty" Little – America's last living Master Clown and longtime "Boss Clown" with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus * Harty the clown – (1906–1986) Frank "Harty" Hart was chief clown for Billy Smart's Circus for 12 years. He toured the US and UK's biggest auditoriums, as well as appearing many times on TV. He even beat the panel on the BBC's What's My Line. * Johnny B, Kummiedjant Lokali * Ian P, Maltese Clown and Actor of the Rivendell Circus * Joe Jackson Sr & Jr. – famous tramp clown entree with a breakaway bicycle * Mikhail Nikolayevich Rumyantsev – Karandash (1901–1983) Soviet Clown and clowning teacher. * Johann Ludwig Jacob – Lou Jacobs (1903–1992) – During his 60 years in the American circus this Master Clown came to be known as one of the most famous clowns in the world through his innovative comic routines, compassion for others and strong dedication to his work. Credited with inventing the clown car gag. * Oleg Popov – Greatly admired clown from the Soviet Union and student of Karandash * Otto Griebling – (1896–1972) Prolific and influential Master Clown with the Cole Bros. and Ringling circuses. The single most admired and respected American circus clown of the 20th century * The Rastellis – European clown act * José Vega Santana – Remi (1958–present) – "Puerto Rico's Greatest Clown" * Vicki Gabereau – Rosie Sunshine - Ran as a candidate in the 1974 Toronto mayoral election * Versace - great clown and pantomime, world wide known from Mexico, touring with "Zirkus Charles Knie" meanwhile * Yuri Nikulin – Russian clown and actor * Jack Perry and Doug McKenzie – Zig and Zag Australian Television clowns Contemporary * Buffo, claimed to be the world's strongest clown * Cepillín, a Mexican clown * Greg and Karen DeSanto – husband and wife clown/comedy team * Dimitri – Swiss clown and mime * Barry Lubin – "Grandma"; star clown of the Big Apple Circus * Fumagalli, European star clown, Big Apple Circus * John Wayne Gacy – "Pogo"; a painter and serial killer * Jeff Gordon – "Le Clown Gordoon"; star clown with the Big Apple Circus * Michael Halvarson – Swedish clown and star pickpocket entertainer who has appeared in Cirque du Soleil Kooza * Paul Hunt – gymnast clown * Jean-Jacques Menais – "Jyjou*", French clown and mime artist (1989— ) * Demetrius Nock – "Bello Nock"; a star clown in Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus * Sergey Pavlov – "Lalala", Russian clown, director and actor * Arthur Vercoe Pedlar – "Vercoe", an English clown * David Shiner – Tony Award-winning American born mime and circus clown who has appeared on Broadway and with several European circuses * Steve Smith – "T.J. Tatters"; longtime director of Ringling Clown College * Tom Bolton – American clown and juggler living in Germany * Los Chicharrines–The Best Mexican Clowns Musicians Jugglers and Tv conductors Rodeo * Flint Rasmussen – Seven time winner of Man in the Can award. * Johnny Tatum – American rodeo clown * Quail Dobbs – American rodeo clown * Slim Pickens – American rodeo clown and film actor. * Big Al Wilson - Australian rodeo clown 10 times awarded clown of the year. Film * Abbott & Costello (William (Bud) Abbott, 1897–1974); Louis Costello, 1906–1959) American comedy duo whose mastery of the white clown (straight man) /red clown (comic) relationship made them one of the most popular and respected teams in American comedy history * Ben Turpin (September 19, 1869 – July 1, 1940) cross-eyed comedian, best remembered for his work in silent films * Buster Keaton – (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) The Great Stoneface. His innovative work as both a comedian and a director made great contributions to the development of the art of cinema * Charlie Chaplin – (April 16, 1889 – December 25, 1977) British born comedian. The most famous actor in early to mid Hollywood cinema era, he acted in, directed, scripted, produced, and eventually scored his own films. His principal character was "The Little Tramp" * Chester Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) American comedian and actor * Harry Langdon – (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American silent film comedian and a first class mime * Jacques Tati – (October 9, 1908 – November 5, 1982) was a French comedian, mime and filmmaker best known as the socially inept Monsieur Hulot * Keystone Cops incompetent group of policemen created by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917 * Laurel & Hardy – perhaps the most famous comedy duo in film history * Martin & Lewis – an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin (as the "straight man") and comedian Jerry Lewis (as his stooge) * The Marx Brothers – a team of sibling comedians that appeared in vaudeville, stage plays, film and television * Peter Sellers – (September 8, 1925 – July 24, 1980) Extremely versatile and talented English comedian and actor best remembered for the character of Inspector Clouseu * Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle (March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) One of the most popular actors of his era, but is best known today for his central role in the so-called "Fatty Arbuckle scandal" * Joseph Utsler – Shaggy 2 Dope; DJ of the Insane Clown Posse, a Detroit-based hip-hop group with a fan army of "schizophrenic wizards" called the juggalos and star of underground film Big Money Hustlaz * Slim Pickens, rodeo clown and film actor * Snub Pollard (November 9, 1889, Melbourne, Australia, – January 19, 1962) was a silent film comedian, popular in the 1920s. * The Three Stooges – starred in many short features that consisted of masterful ways of showcasing their extremely physical brand of slapstick comedy * W.C. Fields – (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946) was an American comedian and actor. Fields created one of the great American comic personas of the first half of the 20th century * Joseph Bruce – Violent J; The leader of the Insane Clown Posse, a Detroit-based hip-hop group and star of Big Money Hustlaz underground film Television * Benny Hill – The Benny Hill Show * Bozo the Clown, a franchised clown played by many local television performers and on cartoons, based on the character created in 1946 by Alan W. Livingston for Capitol Records' record-reader series * Bubbles the Clown – The clown doll that appears on BBC test cards F, J & W * Charlie Chalk from the British children's TV series of the same name * Clarabell the clown was a regular character from the Howdy Doody television program, originally played by Bob Keeshan of Captain Kangaroo fame * John Michael Howson - 'Clown' from ''Adventure Island'' * Loonette The Clown - main character of Canadian series The Big Comfy Couch. * Doink the Clown, a gimmick used by several wrestlers in the 1990s. Doink began as a heel wrestler in the evil clown archetype, but later Doinks portrayed the character as a babyface who loved to entertain the children in the crowd * Dink the Clown, the midget sidekick of Doink the Clown * Eric the Clown, a character on Seinfeld, played by Jon Favreau * Flunkie the Clown (also spelled Flunky), a character on Late Night with David Letterman, a bitter, chain-smoking, depressed, very unenthusiastic clown who helped Dave answer viewer mail about circuses and clowns, played by show writer Jeff Martin. The name originated with his first appearance, in which a viewer suggested that mail to Letterman was actually read by a "flunkie" (sic). The clown's catchphrase was "yeah, it's a real panic." * Damon Wayans – Homey the Clown, a character from the In Living Color television program, whose famous catchphrase was "Homey don't play dat". * Chris Wedes – J.P. Patches, a Seattle children's television mainstay for decades * Alyson Court – Loonette, clown character on the The Big Comfy Couch * Lucille Ball – I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy * Milton Berle – Texaco Star Theater, Berle's Buick Hour * Mr. Noodle, character created by Bill Irwin for the Elmo's World segment of Sesame Street * Mr Tumble character on Something Special, played by Justin Fletcher * Paul Reubens – Pee-wee Herman, Pee-Wee's Playhouse * Pinky Lee – The Pinky Lee Show * Pooter-the-Clown - A birthday clown who appears in the film Uncle Buck * Bev Bergeron – Rebo the Clown (1960–1965), CBS=TV 'Magic Land of Allakazam * Red Skelton – The Red Skelton Show * Rowan Atkinson – Mr. Bean * Jim Allen – Rusty Nails (1957–1972), Pacific Northwest children's television clown, and model (in part) for Matt Groening's "Krusty" character on the television program "The Simpsons" * Sid Caesar – Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour * Soupy Sales – The Soupy Sales Show * Willie Whistle – WSBK-TV38, a clown who had a kids' show in the 1960s-70's. He got his name because he "spoke" with a squeeky whistle * Roger Black – Yucko the Clown, made famous by his rude observations, obscenities, and public intoxication * Zig and Zag (Australian performers) * Der Clown – German television series * LOS CHICHARRINES, The Best Mexican Clowns Theatrical Famous * A. Robins – Vaudeville's "The Banana Man" and "One Man Music Shop" * Andy Kaufman American comic and one of the most famous practitioners of anti-humor * Clark & McCullough – Bobby Clark & Paul McCullough started as circus clowns and progressed to be stars of stage and screen * Ed Wynn – The Perfect Fool * George Carl – Longtime star of the Crazy Horse Saloon in Paris * George Washington Lafayette Fox, perhaps the most famous American stage clown during the 19th century and one of the first known performers to become typecast in a role * Joseph Grimaldi credited with being "the first whiteface clown" — in an homage to Grimaldi, circus clowns began referring to themselves and each other as "Joey"s, and the term 'joey' is now a synonym for clown * Olsen & Johnson – Stars of Broadway's Hellzapoppin' * Richard Tarlton – actor and clown in the Elizabethan theatre in England * Robert Armin – actor and clown in Shakespeare's company * Spike Jones and his City Slickers – Murdered the classics with their "Musical Depreciation Revue"; versatile American musical act featuring slapstick circus-style comedy * Tommy Cooper – British comedy magician * W. C. Fields – Vaudeville comedy star who mastered the variety as well as the legitimate stage, silent and talking films, print and radio * Will Kempe (fl. c 1589–1600) – actor dancer and clown who worked with Shakespeare; famously jigged his way from Norwich to London in 1600 * Willie, West & McGinty – Fast-paced Irish-American vaudeville knockabout act about 3 laborers building a house Contemporary * Adam Gertsacov – bills himself as "The Most Educated Clown In America (barring certain elected officials.)" Currently the Clown Laureate of Greenbelt, Maryland, and the "boss clown" of the Acme Clown Company * Alan Clay – International clown teacher and performer; and author of Angels Can Fly, a Modern Clown User Guide. * Alex the Jester – the "King of Jesters," speaks a contemporary version of the medieval gibberish language Grammelot. * Avner Eisenberg – also known as Avner the Eccentric, a "Broadway" clown * Bill Irwin – Tony award winning clown known for his new vaudeville-style performances * Blue Man Group – Trio of silent characters that perform covered in blue paint * Dan "Sylvester the Jester" Sylvester – The Human Cartoon * Dario Fo – Capo Comicio – creator of "Mistero Buffo" and "Accidental Death of an Anarchist"; recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature; uses Arlecchino stage persona, political activist * Drew Richardson – The Dramatic Fool * Ekaterina Pirogovskaya, Cirque du Soleil clown * Emma the clown– Popular French stage clown * Eric Davis - Cirque du Soleil clown and creator of Red Bastard * Gale LaJoye – International performer and creator of "Snowflake" * Geoff Hoyle – stage clown. Started in the Pickle Family Circus with Bill Irwin and Larry Pisoni * Hilary Chaplain – Versatile NYC stage clown * Jango Edwards – American clown and entertainer in the European cabaret tradition * Jeff Jenkins – Co-founder of Chicago's Midnight Circus * Jean-Jacques Menais – Jyjou* (1989–present) The famous French clown, mime and flower. * John Gilkey - Cirque du Soleil clown * Karen Koziol Scurto - owner of California Clown School * Michael Lane Trautman – physical clown and pantomime, with several theatrical shows * Mump and Smoot – Canadian "clowns of horror" * Richard Pochinko – founder of "Canadian Clowning" style * Slava Polunin – Russian-born clown and creator of "Slava's Snowshow" * Wolfe Bowart – Stage clown touring internationally with his productions LaLaLuna and The Shneedles * Sergey Pavlov – Russian clown "LALALA", creator of "LALALA SHOW" * David Splatt - Australian based vaudeville styled clown and puppeteer (co-founder of Smallpox Theatre). Fictional * Adam the Clown, from the video game Dead Rising. Equipped with two chainsaws that he juggles, he is a boss in the game. He dies by falling on his chainsaws and suffering from massive blood loss. * Binky the Clown from the Garfield comic by Jim Davis * Buggy the Clown is the antagonist of the manga and anime One Piece. His appearance is best described as a mix between a blue-haired clown and a stereotypical pirate. He is extremely sensitive about his real nose (which actually looks like a false clown nose) and anyone who says any thing that he thinks sounds like an insult to his nose, (even if the statement has absolutely nothing to do with his nose) will cause him to get extremely violent. (if you watch the episodes in Japanese you will see the words are similar to "big" "red" & "nose") * Buttons, a central character from the 1952 film The Greatest Show on Earth, played by James Stewart * Calvero was a famous clown character played Charlie Chaplin in the film Limelight * Captain Spaulding, from the horror films House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects * Chuckles the Clown was a Mary Tyler Moore Show background character who was trampled to death in one of the best-known episodes * Crackers the Clown, played by Peter Brocco, the "bad-guy" clown in the Adventures of Superman episode titled "The Clown Who Cried". * Dodo Delwyn once a famous Ziegfeld star, is reduced to playing clowns in burlesque and amusement parks in 1953 film The Clown, played by Red Skelton * Frenchy the Clown of the national lampoon comic Evil clown comics series * Harley Quinn is The Joker's former partner in crime * I Pagliacci, (The Clowns) a tragic opera by Ruggiero Leoncavallo prominently features Arlecchino as a character. This opera was inspired by a true story * Jack, advertising icon for the fast food company, Jack in the Box * Jack Point, from the Judge Dredd Megazine's The Simping Detective series. Undercover Judge who dresses like a clown in order to appear crazy enough to fit in. Also conceals several weapons within clown gear * Jojo, main character on the Disney Channel's Jojo's Circus * The Joker is a supervillain often called the "Clown Prince of Crime" created by DC Comics * Kefka Palazzo, the main antagonist of Final Fantasy VI * Koko the Clown from Max Fleischer's Out of the Inkwell series of animated cartoons * Krusty the Clown the television clown on the Fox animated television series The Simpsons * Pennywise, the clown monster in the Stephen King book It * Pierrot Bolneze from Yakitate! Japan, world-class clown, bread judge and master of ceremonies, he's also the crown prince of Monaco according to the series. Even though he's defined as a clown, he looks more like an harlequin and he perform acrobacies (like free-falling from a great height) and even magic tricks (like cloning himself) * Rajoo, a circus clow and the central character in Raj Kapoor's film Mera Naam Joker * Rollo the Clown, played by William (Billy) Wayne, the "good-guy" clown in the Adventures of Superman episode titled "The Clown Who Cried". * Rollo the clown, from the 1991 film The Little Engine That Could, based on the children's book of the same name. * Ronald McDonald, McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain's advertising clown character, performed by various performers, all of whom were trained to portray the character in an identical manner. Prior to this standardization of the character, Ronald McDonald was played by several performers. In the first television ad featuring Ronald McDonald, the clown was portrayed by Willard Scott in Washington, D.C. * Scoopy, clown mascot of the Safe-T-Cone novelty ice cream cone company. * Shakes the Clown the title character of the film of the same name. Shakes the Clown was called "the Citizen Kane of alcoholic clown films" by the New York Times * Sweet Tooth, is a sociopathic serial killer who is a primary protagonist/antagonist in the''Twisted Metal'' franchise. * Violator, is a serial killer and one of the enemies from the Spawn franchise. * Yorick was a court jester who featured as the subject of a lengthy soliloquy in Shakespeare's Hamlet * Stan is the clown name of the character Louison in the 1991 French film Delicatessen. When Louison worked as "Stan" his sidekick was a chimp known as Livingstone and they were employed in the fictional "Cirque du Colonial" in Paris. See also *Evil clown Further reading *''Poor Clown'' by Charlie Rivel *''Behind My Greasepaint'' by Coco *''Bert Williams – A Biography of the Pioneer Black Comedian'' by Eric Ledell Smith *''The Book Of Clown'' by George Speaight *''Bring On The Clowns'' by Beryl Hugil *''Clown, My Life In Tatters and Smiles'' by Emmett Kelly and F. Beverly Kelly *''The Clown In Times (Volumes 1–6)'' by Bruce Johnson *''Clowns'' by Douglas Newton *''Clowns'' by John Towsen *''Clowns Of The Hope – Tradition Keepers and Delight Makers'' by Barton Wright *''Felix Adler'' by Anne Aull Bowber *''The Fool and His Scepter'' by William Willeford *''Fools and Jesters At The English Court'' by John Southworth *''Greasepaint Matadors – The Unsung Heroes of Rodeo'' by Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor *''Grimaldi – King of Clowns'' by Richard Findlater *''Grock – King of Clowns'' by Grock *''Here Come The Clowns'' by Lowell Swortzell *''Jest In Time: A Clown Chronology'' by Bruce Johnson *''Life's A Lark'' by Grock *''A Ring, A Horse And A Clown'' by John H. McConnell *''Russian Clown'' by Oleg Popov *''The Tramp Tradition'' by Bruce Johnson *Hammond, J. *''Woven Gods: Female Clowns and Power'' in Rotuma (book review) *Handelman, D., Models and Mirrors: Towards an Anthropology of Public Events *Little, K., Clown Performance in the European One-Ring Circus. Culture, 1981. 2(1):61–72. *Rudlin, J., Commedia Dell'Arte; An Actors Handbook *''Angels Can Fly, a Modern Clown User Guide'' by Alan Clay, Artmedia, ISBN 0-9578844-1-9 Famous Clowns * Lowell Swortzell, Here Come the Clowns: A Cavalcade of Comedy from Antiquity To the Present, Publisher: Viking Press, 1978 ISBN 0-670-36874-1 * Frank Foster and Willan G. Bosworth, Clowning Through Publisher: Heath Cranston LTD London, 1937 * Creators of CS:GO Danger Zone - http://counter-strike.net/dangerzone Contemporary clowns * Circus Report magazine, Graphics 2000. ASIN B00006K8X5 * Spectacle magazine. Circus Plus Publications. ASIN B00006KXUX Film clowns * Larry Langman, The Encyclopedia of Film Comedy. Publisher: Taylor & Francis, November 1987 ISBN 0-8240-8496-9 * Walter Kerr, The Silent Clowns. Publisher: Knopf – 1975 ISBN 0-394-46907-0 * Alan S. Dale, Comedy Is a Man in Trouble: Slapstick in American Movies. Publisher: University of Minnesota Press, 2000 ISBN 0-8166-3657-5 Television clowns * Karin Adir, Great Clowns of American Television, Publisher: McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers – December 2001 ISBN 0-7864-1303-4 Theatrical * Stanley Green, The Great Clowns of Broadway. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA September 1, 1984 ISBN 0-19-503471-6 Category:Clowns Category:Evil Clowns